Pizza Hut and Taco Bell to remove artificial ingredients

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File photo.

Pizza Hut and Taco Bell to remove artificial ingredients

File photo.

Pizza Hut is getting rid of artificial ingredients from its pizzas.

The restaurant chain’s corporate parent Yum! Brands said all artificial colors and flavors will be removed from the pizzas by the end of July. Taco Bell will also follow suit with a similar move soon.

Pizza Hut CEO David Gibbs said it was in response to customer demands.

“You don’t get the honor of being America’s leading pizza brand without consistently keeping up with the changing needs of today’s consumers,” he said in a news release.

Separately, baby formula brand Similac is rolling out a new soy product that will be made without genetically modified ingredients.

Abbott, the company that makes the formula, said the the new product called Similac Advanced Non-GMO will be “slightly” more expensive than the regular version and will be available this week at Target, with wider distribution in the fall.

Abbott spokeswoman Lindsy Delco said the new product is designed to satisfy consumers who have concerns about GMOs.

“[The new product] does give moms and dads who are interested in non-GMO ingredients peace of mind,” she said.

This is just the latest in a long line of food companies that are cutting out either GMO or artificial ingredients.

Panera Bread announced, earlier this month, that it was removing artificial additives and preservatives. And last month, Chipotle said its food products are now GMO-free, becoming the first fast food chain to do so.

Last year, General Mills also said it is cutting out GMOs in Cheerios.